Kitchen Design Ideas

The modern kitchen is a place that serves many roles and these days is often the centre of social and practical activity, functioning as a social gathering plan as well as the food preparation workstation. Thats why is so important for the modern kitchen to be well designed and well planned.

A really well designed kitchen should allow your guests plenty of room to relax or even your children to do their homework while you are cooking and without getting under your feet.

Its very important that your kitchen design looks and feels great for you, as we really do so much more than just cooking and cleaning in the kitchen these days.

Although the bathrooms look is considered very important these days, the kitchen is still probably the most important and most used room in the home. Whatever the type of life you lead, good design and planning of the kitchen can make a world of difference to whether your kitchen is just functional or actually a place thats pleasurable.

There are some many options available to you for improving your kitchen these days, whether you are just adding one or to improvements or completely renovating your kitchen from scratch.

Maybe bring some rustic charm to your home, create the perfect vintage kitchen, or maybe create a versatile kitchen that suits all the family, with the right choice of kitchen worktop. Create a stylish splashback, make the right choice with expert tips design solution to create a perfect working triangle in your kitchen.

When your almost ready to design and plan that new kitchen you have been considering, that potential kitchen redesign needs to be well thought out. Planning a new kitchen is similar to planning a good meal or dinner party.

Who are the guests and how many. What will they eat and not eat. Will there be children. What are the ingredients. Will the dishes work together. What wine goes with the food. How much will it cost? With that in mind, heres some tips on what you should consider before you start.

Make a list of what the key elements that you want to achieve with your new kitchen. This is important if you want the new kitchen to work for you. One thing you should do right at the start is establish what styles of kitchen you do and dont like. Modern? Traditional? American? European? Heavily used or just now and again. Open plan? Are you going to eat in the kitchen? Is the dining area accessible? Does it currently have enough storage and do you need to allow for more?

Do you have a large family and feel the need for a walk in pantry. Or do you live alone or just your partner, so quite happy to have limited storage but a larger kitchen space.

Maybe consider opening up the kitchen to the dining room and/or the living room if the design of your house allows. This can help make the kitchen not feel so isolated.

Also make a wish list of what equipment and accessories you would like in the new kitchen. You may not be able to afford it all at once, but at least with a list as a guiding hand you can add bits and pieces and the budget allows.

The best thing to do in the early stages if you are unsure is to visit a kitchen showroom and see as many different styles as possible. Often a kitchen design that may look stunning online may not quite suit when seen up close, so look at many different styles to eliminate those that you definitely cant live with.

What shape is the room and how is the new design going to take advantage of it to best effect? What configuration is your new kitchen layout going to be? L-shaped, galley? Do you have space for a kitchen island? Breakfast bar? TV? Sofa?

If you have no idea of what layout would suit your space, then it might be worth contacting a specialist kitchen designer, either visiting their showroom or getting to come to you home to discuss ideas and measure you up. They will consider things like the 'working triangle', the number and type of appliances you need, and things like ensuring you maximise your natural light.

Try and get a feel for the budget that your aiming for. If your handy or have access to some hand family or friends, installing yourselves can often keep costs down, but ensure that your skills and stamina are up to the job.

Also ensure that your budget allows for your choices of the essentials such as worktops, handles and flooring but also the extras such as appliances, sinks, taps and lighting. The choices made for those can easily turn a reasonably priced project into a budget buster. Maybe opt for 1 or 2 extra special touches to start, and then upgrade as and when finances allow.

Rememeber if you are making major structural changes to your layout, that you may need the services or advice of professionals when dealing with gas, electricity and plumbing, as there are usually legal restrictions on what work can be done and who can do it. Once sound piece of advice is dont take any shortcuts, as generally you will be storing up problems that will catch you out later.

One good thing to do for additional inspiration is to take advantage of kitchen firms brochures as they are a great way to see the latest designs and are selecting from latest and greatest.

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Your kitchen is probably the most important room in your home. If you don't believe that, just ask a realtor or estate agent what rooms most influence a potential buyer! So make sure it looks amazing! Adding a backsplash will add a lot of style to your kitchen and really will improve how it looks.